Gee whiz. I'm not sure how I overlooked this thread. I guess because I'm not into motorcycle camping any more. It's an interesting thread though.

Here are a couple pics from my one epic motorcycle camping trip in June of 1972:




3,000 mile round trip from Michigan to Colorado and back. I was a LOT younger then.

I do my motorcycle camping in a toy hauler nowadays.

Sidecars are addictive, once tried you're hooked.
Marie would have nothing to do with sidecars until one evening in a foreign field she was persuaded

THANK YOU for sharing those photo's Mr John....I seem to remember at least seeing one of them before.

Bryan...I'm really looking forward to trying the car out. I keep hearing good things about them...from people I trust...so it just has to be good.

BTW......I'm not sure Marie looks all that happy???

Take care fellows....thanks again for taking the time to share...your friend in NC, USA Gordon Gray

Hey John

Cool...side burns, red bell bottoms and an american flag helmet. Those were the days!

Dave

Hi Guys,

Well, as long as we are on sidecars, I'll experiment with posting a shot of my rig. If it works, it is in the parking lot of a viewpoint up on Mt. St. Helen's, our famous volcano.

I put 6000 miles on her last summer, camping around Washington State, and I love that third wheel. (But I'd most definitely use a B50 instead of a B44, Gordon. Maybe with a compression plate...and a big rear sprocket!)

Here goes---(nope--didn't work...sigh.) Maybe next time. Anyway, I do love that third wheel, especially with the luggage rack!

Barb...not the photo you were trying for....but a good one just the same.




Your friend in NC, USA Gordon Gray

I can't help it.....



Floyd (aka Sonny)...your check's going in the mail tomorrow.


Your friend in NC, USA Gordon Gray

Thanks Dave. That's my buddy though, not me, but it sure is "period" stuff.

Ha, here's a video of an Austrian campout..from the Yamaha SR500 forum..
http://www.sr500forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2655&start=30

Austrian campout video: http://rei97.de/film/soelk2009.wmv

There are all manner of great bikes there, and even shows some sidecars....beer, and snow!
Still 20K SR's registered in Europe.

(and a link posted in Gordons B44 sidecar thread)
http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=300768&gonew=1#UNREAD

im very slowly geting there but i will this year i hope i want it ready for 2011
evey thing is knakered on the bike its had some hard
anyways yew awl keep'a'troshin

http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=282940#Post282940

Bodger, I just love that video...very nice sights and sounds.

Lightningrob...thanks for sharing. I love your bikes and cars
and can't wait to see and hear how it all turns out.

Thanks to both of you for taking the time to share.

Here's another picture borrowed from the Adventure Rider site. Proof that the use of a shebang is global.





Cheers and here's to warm weather and clear roads ahead...Gordon Gray (aka Goobergray) in NC, USA

Adding to this..there's a long article in the May 2010 Walneck's Classic Cycle magazine about sidecars...in the newstands now.

Hi Gordon,

Back at the beginning of this thread you had two coolers strapped to a (BSA?). Did you have a frame underneath all that stuff? Do you have a picture of this?

Thanks in advance,

Here you go, Bill. Greg http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbt...;Main=32202&Number=282568#Post282568

Thanks Greg. That set up is so clean! I guess it just bolts to the luggage carrier underneath. Most impressive. It's got me thinking about a throwover rack for the Firebird that would be removable. Gotta protect the mufflers from the side bags. I don't think I'm going the "cooler" route but what a solution!

I has a sort of feng shui to it...Gordon -- is that a two stroke bike?

BTW GUYS - This thread is worth the price of admission. Love the old pictures!!!!!!

Semper...the "cooler bags" were pretty much just a "fun" project. They evolved into the sidecar I'm now trying to set up. I was laid off for 7 months and had no play money and plenty of time on my hands...so...what's a man to do? The job I'm on now has me out of town and I don't have time to do much but mow grass and catch up around the house when I'm home. The bike the cooler bags were on was a 1964 Honda 305 Super Hawk. Great little four stroke and a hoot to ride but the cooler bags and gear were a little to much IMO for it. It just never felt "right" with all that stuff on the back.

Thank you Greg (my Cracker friend) for taking up my slack. I have a laptop I can use when I'm away from home but it, the spotty wireless connections and the new to me browser....well I just can't seem to get the hang of it all and haven't been on line much lately.

Take care.....your friend in NC, USA....Gordon Gray

Recent trip to France, not classic bikes but air cooled vtwins OK...
France. June 2010
This year's long trip was around France. We booked the outward tunnel crossing and three days in Provence but that was all, the rest we made up as we went along.
Getting ready:

Aboard the shuttle Sunday evening:

We went on a Sunday evening and stayed at the Hotel Kyriad Calais Plage, bog standard modern hotel but just across the road from the beach:


Monday morning,, Autoroute 26 south as far as Saint Quentin then back roads through Champagne country to the Camping Municipal at Epernay:


rained a bit in the night but very warm. Next day mostly Autoroute as far south as Dole, decided to stop at Salins les Bains in Jura, nice old spa town in a lovely part of the world. Time to inflate myself:


Wednesday headed south via Autoroute as far as Grenoble and the camping at Vizille, had a couple of heavy rain showers on the way. As we put the tent up it started to pour down. Chatted to a couple of English guys on their way to Nice. Take-away pizza that night. As we went to bed the rain started to really come down hard and then the thunder and lightning started and carried on for about 5 hours raining hard all the time. At about 07:30 we were thinking "we cant pack up and set off in this" when the rain stopped. The tent had not leaked a drop. Outside the ground was waterlogged but soon started to drain away. Two mugs we had left empty outside the tent were now full of rain water up to about 1/2" from the top:


We soon found out that the same storm a little further south had caused severe flooding and 19 deaths.
Set off from Vizille straight on the famous N85 "Route Napoleon" through the mountains, this is a great road, the sun came out, stopped for lunch in Gap (the town, not the shop) More N85 from Gap to Castellane and in to the Gorges du Verdon where we had booked a cabin for 3 nights.


Spent time generally lazing about and exploring the gorges, well worth a visit, tons of bikers around.


We eventually hit the road again, by now it had got unseasonably cold, only about 4 degrees C in the morning. Rode in a general NW direction across the mountains before calling it a day at Die where we (I) chickened out of camping and pitched up at Hotel Les Alpes in Die , recommended place, the owner is a biker and parking for motos is free in the hotel lockup parking place.
Die was well worth exploring, lots of lumps of Roman masonry reused in the town walls.
Down to the Rhone valley and across it on a very windy and cold day. However the ride from Privas to St Agreve through the Ardeche was fantastic. We had decided to aim for Saint Julien Chapteuil but when we got near the weather was still cold so once more we chose a hotel for the night.
Next day dawned... warm and sunny! Hoorah! Stopped off in Le Puy en Velay for a look around the cathedral and a loiter in the cloisters:


Onwards NW past Clermont Ferrand and Chateauroux, found a superb campsite at Chateauneuf les Bains, next to a river, spotless facilities, even a fridge for campers to use. Definitely the best site we stayed at.

Onwards ever onwards! Next night camped at Amboise on the Loire, large campsite which was OK but a silly security gate with a PIN number which was alright except for the fact that it "does not work so well for the motos" which we were told AFTER punching in the code many times while other campers in cars queued up behind us in the boiling sun. So, dont camp there on a bike.
Stopped on the way there at a little town called Culan. The word "sleepy" was first written after a visit here:


Next day stopped off at Chartres where we could park up outside the cathedral which really is impressive:


Found a good little site near Vernon:

Next day we took in Monet's garden near Giverny, very hot, very beautiful but very busy:


The following day was a Friday and we thought we would camp somewhere near Boulougne and have a leisurely trip home on Saturday. We must have tried 6 campsites but every one in the area was little more than a trailer park with hundreds of parked up caravans. Not what I would call a camp site so we opted for a hotel again.
On the Saturday we rocked up at the tunnel to buy a ticket but BE WARNED if you dont buy in advance its very expensive, �73 EACH instead of the �22 we paid on the way out... oops. Admittedly it was 12:00 and peak time but an advance booking would have been about half that.
And then it was all over. Home safely after a great trip of about 2,000 miles, some great roads, great sights, good food and wine and mostly great weather.
Here is a link to the full set of pics:
Flickr slideshow http://www.flickr.com/photos/afuller18/sets/72157624405663058/show/
Adam.

WOW. cool trip...
haven't time to look at the link to more pix but will check it out later....
thanx fer postin'

Good read, sounds like a great time....thanks for taking the time to share.

Gordon Gray in NC, USA

going back to look at all the pix...very beautiful country.
AND i love those under-hung Euro tents with the *porch* on the front! i admired them while in England and on the Isle of Man during our 2008 trip there- during which it rained a bit...
i was looking at the brand VanGo...

but ultimately couldn't justify the cost considering i have two perfectly good tents already. AND the thing here in the USA being that i camp a lot in dry weather, tho i HAVE spent DAYS camping in heavy, inclement weather...during which i am a fan of using tarps with bungees and compression straps- which DOES create a lot more bulk...in those situations, i have been camping out of the truck or car, however. blah blah blah.

Adam, thanks for posting these pix.

The tent is a Karrimor Sigma, packs down really small considering its size when set up. Weighs 4.4 kilos about 9 3/4 pounds. A little less after I dumped the steel pegs and replaced them with a handful of alloy ones. When we bought it it was a rather steep �169 I see its now down to �90... I would recommend it for motorcycle camping as the porch gives you space to dump all your stuff or cook in when weather bad. the sleeping area is plenty big enough for two.
Vango have made great tents for years now, spent many a night in a Vango force 10 in my youth, amazingly still available: Vango Force 10
Right now we are just reliving a few holiday memories with a bottle of Calvados, cheersh!

..great article! Went down to Mende,Florac & the Parc National des Cevennes just a few years ago in september.In 190 miles of country roads only saw maybe a couple of dozen other vehicles.Heaven...Maybe it was the 'Euro's value?When I got to Cannes-la-Bocca in October,it was VERY quiet...France is now one of the most expensive holiday destinations...such a pity.I'd like to visit Pau(maybe one day)after reading Neale Shiltons tales of those 'Police' bike competitions in the '60's/70's...cheers,6T

I agree about those two-section tents. NOBODY in the history of the planet camped in more rain than we did in 20 straight days on the road in 2008, BUT because we had tents with that outer section where you could leave your wet gear and change, and an INNER section where your bedroll was that could stay clean and dry, we always had a warm and comfortable place to climb in to at the end of the day.

Only thing is, I've kind of gotten to like my big Coleman Exponent 5, which has a 6' high center section so I can stand up straight in it. I really got tired over the years of rolling around on the ground to pull my pants on. When the Coleman needs replacing though, I'll have a look at these tents here, or one of the ones that we used in England, Shaun knows what that brand name is, something to do with Everest or Hillary or something ....

Lannis

My Coleman 4 man tent, that I got on a double discount, has never leaked. It also has a vestibule, although its not as large as I would like, it does provide some cover in the weather before heading in to sleep.

Invariably, after all is said and done, it will be raining when it's time to take down the tent! Let me count the times. The rain usually starts after midnight and is still going a 4am when I get up to take down the tent and load the bike. Still there is something incredibly beautiful about setting out on a fully loaded BSA at first light, with an overcast, with a flash in the clouds over some far off tree covered hill on the side. That I can do this I wouldn't trade for anything....

Semper Fi.


Loaded for Bear

I was off to TWO (Two Wheels Only) motorcycle resort just north of Dahlonega Georgia one weekend, just to get away and to gather my thoughts. I loaded up my 2005 Triumph "America" with everything but the kitchen sink, and headed out. Upon arrival at the resort, there was absolutely nobody in sight, not 1 camper. I selected the most remote site, up in the corner of the property, near the woodline, and set the tent up. Then off to Wally World in Dahlonega to get meat for the in ground grill. I settled on a pack of Salmon, that looked tasty, and a few other items, then back to Suches, where dusk was approaching. Got some coals going, and cooked the salmon for about 10 to 15 minutes, and finished it off, now with a full belly. Just about 20 minutes later, I hear a "bustle in the hedgerow", coming from the thick woods next to me. The "bustle" turned into a "bull in a china shop" sound, crashing limbs and definitely coming down the mountain toward my site. Still not a soul for miles, the creature was now about 50 feet inside the thick woodline, still approaching. Whatever it was, was BIG, as I could hear every footstep now. Not knowing what else to do, I fired the Triumph's engine, and revved it, as the only defense I had. This apparently diverted the creature, as I never saw exactly what it was, just that it was BIG. I thought,,,what a dummy..grilling Salmon in Black Bear country...how convenient. Did'nt get much sleep that night, but was still really good to get out, get away, and excercise some "awareness" functions I had'nt used in awhile. Needless to say, I felt very "alive"...